ESPN has fired former Major League pitcher Curt Schilling, now a baseball analyst, following comments he made on Facebook about transgender people.

As a public figure that appears on a national sports network, he should have known better. I don’t know how ESPN’s social media policy reads, but the network did issue this statement: “ESPN is an inclusive company. Curt Schilling has been advised that his conduct was unacceptable and his employment with ESPN has been terminated.”

If he’d have stuck to posts about pitchers, catchers and hitters, no matter how critical, it likely wouldn’t have been a big deal.

When he used his forum and his fame as a sports broadcaster to make a political or social statement, he crossed the foul line.

Working at a PR agency creates its own set of issues when it comes to social media because we have so many clients in so many different industries. They all have their own agenda.

With that said, there are a couple of common sense things to keep in mind if you are going to personally take the field in the social media game. Do your posts align with the clients you work on? Are your posts appropriate representation of yourself as an employee at the agency? If not, they are probably better kept to yourself.

President
Scott is president of HMA Public Relations and a founding member of the Public Relations Global Network. He’s a Phoenix native, husband, father of two and a fan of all sports and a participant in some.
Check out Scott's full bio